Even though everyone claims that they do not value the body beautiful, we all do actually. Starting with ours, we unwittingly care about the appearance. When it comes to appearance, one of the most prominent things that change it is the hair. Putting on different hairstyles and colors can change how a person looks. However, people who suffer from hair loss can not take this advantage. Hair loss is a quite common problem among adults all over the world. Even though some people like the bald style, most of the time it is a reason for insecurity. Also, one can be joking matter because he or she has bald areas on the head. Besides covering the head with hats or scarves, people have been using some medication as a solution for hair loss. Another solution for hair loss is having a hair implant.
A hair implant is a procedure that aims to make one area on the head have more hair. The surgeons take follicles from the back of the head or another part of the body. Then, he/she inserts those follicles into the area where the patient wants to have more hair. The area where the follicles are taken is called the “donor area”. The implant procedure may cause some scars on the donor and the implanted area. But the scars will be camouflaged by the hair, so it will not be a problem. Having a hair implant is more effective than using hair growth medications. However, the implanted hair can still fall out or get thinner in time. Hair implantation has been done for a long time and is much easier now. There are two main techniques of hair implants; Follicular Unit Strip Surgery and Follicular Unit Extraction.
Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS)
Follicular unit strip surgery is an effective hair implant procedure. This procedure involves an incision and local anesthetic. The surgeon starts by numbing the back of the head. With a scalpel, he/she cuts a strip of skin off. The strip’s length varies, it can be a few centimeters or be as long as the width between ears. The surgeon closes the incision with sutures. With the help of his assistants, the surgeon cuts the strip into smaller pieces using a microscope. Those smaller pieces are called grafts and each graft contains 1-10 follicles. To the area where the patient wants to have more hair, the surgeon opens small holes and cuts. The grafts are then inserted into these gaps. With covering the head with bandages, the procedure ends. This procedure takes less time than FUE and is more effective in covering bigger areas.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
Follicular unit extraction is an older technique for hair implants. During the procedure, a local anesthetic is used. The back of the head is supposed to be shaven for the procedure. The surgeon (and his assistants) take the follicles one by one from the donor area. During this process, the surgeon uses a punch tool. As the hairs are transplanted one by one, this procedure takes more time than the FUSS procedure. To the area where the hair will be implanted, the surgeon opens small cuts. The grafts are implanted into those cuts. After the recovery, small dots will appear on the operated area, but they will be covered by the hair. After implanting the grafts into the recipient area, the surgeon will cover the operated area with bandages. As the follicles are implanted individually, covering a big area may take between 4-8 hours in this procedure.
Who can Have a Hair implant
Nearly half of the people in the world suffer from hair loss. Along with natural causes, it can be a consequence of other factors as well. We can count hormonal issues, aging, and genetics as natural causes. Also, stress, diet, diseases, infections, and wrongly used hair care products can trigger hair loss. It is known that some medications used for cancer, arthritis, heart diseases, high blood pressure can cause hair loss. Anyone suffering from hair loss caused by any of those reasons can have a hair implant. It is an easy and safe solution for baldness. It’s good for people who worry about their baldness, as the change in their appearance will make them more confident. Also, it can be a good solution for covering scars. Like any other part of the skin, hair can be implanted on scar tissue too.
Risks of a Hair implant
As the hair implant procedures are surgeries, they have some risks. Before the operation, your surgeon will inform you about what can go wrong and what kind of complications can occur. So you should keep in mind that in case anything goes wrong you should contact your surgeon. Some risks that are involved in a hair transplant procedure are:
- Infections
- Bleeding
- Allergic reactions (due to the anesthetic)
- Itching
- Swelling
- Numbness at some points of the head
- Visible scars
- Loss of the implanted hair
Most of the time no big problems occur due to hair implantation. But you should still be careful about the operated area. Your surgeon will prescribe the medication that will ease your discomfort during the recovery period. Also, so as not to cause any complications, you should follow the instructions of your surgeon precisely. Do not hesitate to contact and ask questions to your surgeon if you notice anything strange.
Recovery
Hair implantation procedures do not have a long recovery period. After 3-5 days of the surgery, you can start to work again. A few days after the surgery, you can take the bandages off. You can wash your hair in a week but you should be very gentle. In a few weeks, the implanted hair is expected to fall off and regrow. You should avoid wearing things on your head unless your surgeon says the opposite. The final result of the implant takes almost a year to be fully visible. When the incisions heal, the scars will be covered by your hair.